Watch out for our horses, club pleads

POISONING POSSIBLE: The residents at St Heliers Bay Pony Club would appreciate people keeping an eye on them over the summer.

Relevant offers

It's the horses that suffer when trespassers jump the fence at St Heliers Bay Pony Club.

President Mark Steward says what these people leave behind is often toxic to horses.

Every so often staff find substances which should not be in the horses' water troughs.

These include things such as methylated spirits and bottles containing alcohol or chemicals.

Other times they have discovered homemade smoking pipes, broken glass and white congealed matter at the bottom of troughs. The most recent incident occurred a couple of months ago but Mr Steward is worried that with the onset of warmer weather it may happen more frequently.

"The health and welfare of the horses is a concern to us. It'd be a pretty ugly death if it did occur because horses are really traumatised by that sort of poisoning."

Other issues the club occasionally faces include out-of-control dogs which terrorise the horses and noisy drivers trying to scare them during riding sessions.

There have also been instances of vandalism and theft of equipment from horse floats and trucks as well as drunk drivers crashing through fences.

The club considers itself lucky that none of these incidents has resulted in the death of a horse.

It relies heavily on the public to do the right thing and ring the police if they see something that doesn't look right, Mr Steward says.

Call 111 if you see someone acting suspiciously or contact community constable Todd Martin on 521 5452. You can also phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to give information anonymously.